March 1, 2007 9:39 AM PST

Sony NW-A800 debuts in Europe

Font size
Print
E-mail
Share
6 comments

(Credit: Sony Style)

ATRACLife revealed photos of Sony's NW-A800 series MP3 player not so long ago, but inquiries to my Sony reps garnered no official comments. However, I can now say with certainty that the NW-A800, a video-capable Walkman with an ample screen and Sony's typical sleek stylings, is indeed a reality. The player is now available for pre-order on the company's European Web site, which is listing four colors of the device: black, white, pink, and "violet" (looks blue to me). At first glance, it appeared that Sony was behind the times where flash memory is concerned: The view from the link above only shows 2GB and 4GB models, but some deeper digging reveals that there is an 8GB version as well. So it looks like Sony is set to compete as far as hardware is concerned; now, about that SonicStage software ... no updates, you say? Bummer. Other details are kind of sparse, but here are some key specs:

Plays approximately 30 hours of music or 8 hours of video
2.0 inch QVGA High Brightness Colour LCD (240 x 320 dots)
Multi codec support (many formats supported)
WM-PORT (22 pin connector that allows you to connect your Walkman to various kinds of optional accessories)
Hi-Speed USB compatible (USB 2.0)
Dimensions: 43.8 x 88.0 x 9.1mm (the thinnest section is 8.3mm)
Weight: approximately 53 g
Supplied accessories: headphones (MDR-EX082), headphone extension cable, USB cable, software (SonicStage CP 4.3, Image Coverter 3), quick start guide (full instruction manual is included on the CD-ROM)

(Thanks, Nav!)

For more than five years, Jasmine France has covered a variety of tech products for CNET--from scanners to keyboards to GPS devices--but she's happiest where she is now: sitting atop a pile of MP3 players, "testing" every music service known to man, and jamming a variety of earbuds in every shape and color into her absurdly small ears. E-mail Jasmine.